Labour candidate welcomes $4b commitment for jobs in regions

LABOR candidate for Coffs Harbour, Tony Judge has welcomed the commitment by State Labor leader Luke Foley to spend all of the proceeds of the sale of Snowy Hydro on transformative projects to create jobs in regional NSW.

"The Coffs Harbour region is a great place to live, but so many people are struggling to find a secure, well-paid job that allows them to pay today's bills and plan for the future,” he said.

"Adult unemployment is unacceptably high and one in five of our young people just cannot find a job. Even people with a job are struggling to make ends meet, as the Coffs region has the third lowest average wages in NSW.”

Luke Foley has committed a future State Labor Government to spending the $4.1 billion coming to NSW from the transfer of the Snowy Hydro scheme on projects in regional NSW.

"That means real opportunities, real projects and real jobs for people outside Sydney. It means that fewer young people will need to move away from our region just to find a job. It means a chance to grow and plan for a future in this beautiful part of NSW,” Mr Judge said.

"After 7 years of coalition governments, the gap between Sydney and the rest of NSW has continued to widen. Rural and regional communities have suffered job cuts, service downgrades and crumbling infrastructure, while funding was wasted on costly, badly managed road and transport projects in Sydney.

"Funding for schools and hospitals has been put on hold while the government rushes through the demolition and rebuild of stadiums in Sydney. The Berejiklian/Barilaro government seems to think that northern NSW ends at Newcastle.”

"A Foley Labor government will use the funds from the Snowy Hydro transfer to reverse that trend and encourage decentralisation, innovation and growth in regional NSW. It will look to the future through the generation of new and renewable energy supplies. Most importantly it will foster new, sustainable jobs for people in our region.”